It's a MIRACLE!!!!!

Recently, Luke began Puggles at Perryville FBC. In case you didn't know, Puggles is a group in AWANA Clubs for 2-3 year-olds. They have these cutsie little T-shirt uniforms that are baby blue with navy trim. The shirt has a platypus coming from behind the word "Puggles" on the front. It looks great with Navy blue shorts, bright blue eyes, and lots of blond curls.

A few weeks ago, I washed the shirt. As I was taking it out of the washing machine I saw some spots on it. I pulled it out. Mildew stains!!!! All over the front of it!! It had been in the bottom of the laundry basket and wet washcloths were thrown on top of it.

Since that day, I have tried everything from Borax to Hydrogen Peroxide; color safe bleach to vinegar; and other various products. I have tried combinations of the aforementioned products as well; all to no avail. I have spent well over the cost of a new shirt trying to get the stain out. All I have managed to accomplish is the stains are now grey instead of black and one tiny minuscule spot that was not even stained is now white.

I went ahead and let him wear it Sunday night. I had explained to the leaders what had happened. They were very encouraging stating "there will be worse stains than that on it by the end of the year." That may very well be; but, those will be earned stains that Luke made while he was learning about God.

In all of this, you may ask, "Where is the miracle?" As I stand in the bathroom gathering dirty clothes for washing, I look at the pile of washcloths on the side of the tub and the dirty clothes of a 10 year old girl that lay beside an almost completely empty laundry basket(hey, her dad is a band director; not a coach!). All of a sudden, it hits me. "Hey! Luke put his shirt in the dirty clothes!!!!!"

You see God performs little miracles everyday and His wonders never cease!!!

Josh????

Luke is in AWANA Puggles here. It is really cute. There are 3 little 2-3 year olds and they learn about light, clouds, trees, flowers, and different things that God made. They ask the children, "Who made the flowers?" The little boys don't usually answer but the little girl always says "God." If we ask Luke at home, "Who made the trees?" his normal anwer is "I dunno" with that sweet little smile.
This morning, Luke and I were watching Dora the Explorer and she was in outer space. She asks "Do you see the turtle constellation?" Luke's patented answer, "No!" "Do you see the chicken constellation?" "No!"
Luke points at the TV and says "Moon, Momma!"
I answered, "Yes Luke! Who made the Moon and Stars?" He looks at me with that sweet smile and proudly proclaims, "Josh!"
"Yes Luke! God made the moon and stars."
Moments pass. "Luke, who is Josh?"
"I dunno."

I plead insanity!!!

The only thing keeping me sane is that I think daily that I'm insane. Since a crazy person is incapable of having the rationale necessary to realize they are insane, I must still be sane. Yeah! That's it! I'm not as nuts after all.

I've Got the Golden Tickets!!!!

There has been a lot of hype about this Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert in NLR on December 1. I don't see what the big deal is myself. I would have been one of those parents waiting in line that really didn't know who it was I was buying tickets to see.
I know she is Billy Ray Cyrus' daughter. I know that he is just a poor ol' boy from Flat Woods, KY. I know that because when Achy Break Heart was out that is how he always introduced himself.
Moriah wanted to go and tickets were $700 before the tickets actually went on sale. People waited in line, there was a big ordeal. Tickets were limited to 4 per person and the concert sold out in 30 minutes. They actually told people there would be no advantage to going to the arena. "If you have internet access, stay in the comforts of your own home and buy your tickets."
I was out of town on the morning that the tickets went on sale. I had luckily cued in on the anticipated hype of the tickets; I asked John if he would get online to get tickets. We have the fastest internet available and that was good for upper level tickets. It wasn't what I was hoping. But, after talking to friends and realizing that not everybody got tickets (even those who were on the internet), I was happy that we had tickets.
All I know is that now, I could sell these tickets for $400-$600 a ticket and then turn around and buy tickets for the same concert in Bossier City, LA for $150 a piece. Or, I could have done what the guy in Houston, TX did. He bought 4 tickets. Sold 2 of them for twice face value and now he takes his daughter to the concert for free. Or, for $15 a ticket I could take Luke to see the Doodlebops and sit in the same seat!!!!
I hope Moriah enjoys the concert. I guess we can take John's binoculars so we can see Hannah/Miley. It is important to remember, this is Moriah's money and this is how she chose to spend it. It is important to HER to go to this concert.

We won't have it!!!!

Moriah's new school has the Pinnacle Internet Viewer where parents can track their child's progress or lack there of and be sent notices about their child's grades, etc. I was so excited about this that I put to receive reports daily. After 2 weeks, I decided that weekly reports were sufficient; unless her grades fall below a certain point.
Yesterday, we reached that point. I received a report about her Social Studies grade. So, when she came home from school, "So, Dear, how was your day?" and all of the daily rituals we go through. I asked, "How's your grade in Social Studies?" She seemed a bit taken back. "It's fine," was her response. "Well, Babe, I got a notice from the school about your grade in Social Studies."

"WHAT?".........."This won't happen again!"............as she storms to her room and shuts the door.

A few moments later............"Did they email you? That is so wrong!"

Later on in the afternoon, "When I get to school tomorrow, I'm going to have a talk with them about this emailing you my grades. It needs to stop. I will tell you my grades. They don't need to be telling you my business. This will not happen again!"

How funny!!!! I love Pinnacle.

The Importance of the letter R in Cactus

I love Luke!!!! He is so cute. We went out to eat after church yesterday. We went to a Mexican restaurant in Morrilton. They were decorated with southwest paintings and such. In several of the paintings were Cacti. You know, the tall ones like you see in the desert. Luke is under the impression they resemble green forks.

We were sitting in the restaurant enjoying our lunch with the rest of the Sunday after-church crowd. Luke screams out, "Momma, Fok! Momma, Fok!" Oh my!!!! We tried to go right along with him, "Yes Luke! It looks like a fork!" To which he laughed and screamed louder. "FOK! FOK! FOK! FOK!" We gave up and started answering with "Cactus! Luke it is a cactus!" He kept this up by yelling it 3 or 4 more times before we managed to get out of the restaurant. Far, far away from anything that resembled a cactus or a fork!

Montana Mania

If you have a young daughter; then, no doubt you have also heard of Hannah Montana. My daughter is just in love with her. She is the coolest!!!! And, if you don't have a young daughter, Hannah Montana is Miley Cyrus. Does that last name look familiar? Yes, she is the daughter of Billy Ray. I have been informed recently about the Cyrus family tree...as if I didn't have enough; useless knowledge crammed in my head.

Well, lo and behold, guess who is coming to Alltel Arena? Everybody who is anybody is going!!! So I'm told. I got online to see about tickets. Tickets have not officially gone on sale yet. I signed up to get an update about ticket information. There are some tickets for sale out there. I found some for $700 a piece?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!? Excuse Me!!!!! I don't think so. I showed it to Moriah. She got all excited. "Can we go? Can we go?"
"No, not at that price!"
"Is that a lot?"
"Uhhhhh! That would break my achy breaky checkbook!"
"What????"
Exactly!!!!
We are waiting until they go on sale where we can get a reasonably priced ticket.

A Pleasant Memory!

Something happened this morning that reminded me of a time when I was a child.

It is a cool very pleasant morning. Quiet. Moriah and John have left for school. Luke is still in bed. I was out in the garage (door still up) doing a load of laundry before it got so hot! I heard squawking. I sat the laundry basket down and went to the opening of the garage and just stood and watched. When I was young, I so enjoyed in the Fall when the geese would fly over headed South. I loved watching them; their formation, their noise. It was exciting in a way.

For the last six years, I have lived in places where geese congregated all year long. I loved seeing them and they often flew around town in their formations and trumpeting (more like saxophoning). But, I guess you just learn to take the little things like that for granted. It was good to be reminded of how great God really is!

Something New!

Well, I haven't had to be jump started in front of the school anymore; but, Moriah held out for the riding the bus option. She started yesterday. It's 2 blocks to the corner where she catches the bus. There are 5 little girls in our neighborhood and they all ride the bus. Moriah has been itching to ride the bus anyway and the embarassment of all embarassments happened and that just caused a rash.

She has never riden a bus to anywhere except band trips. It was really hard...............for us! John said he almost cried when she got out of his truck at the corner. Yes, she rides 2 blocks in the truck with Daddy. She walks home in the afternoon.

The 2 of the little girls that live across the street came over to play today. It was nice. Not since we were in Atlanta has Moriah had neighborhood friends to play with. John is even psyched about it. Tonight, we are putting up the air hockey table.

Perryville Band 07 in the Fair Parade

We just got home from the Perry County Fair Parade. Luke was all hyped up about all of the candy he was going to get. Then, the first piece of candy that flew his way hit him right smack in the middle of the forehead. He was done. It was John's debut performance as the PHS band director.

Paranoid--as performed by the Mustang Band

Mustand Band 07 from Fultz N' It and Vimeo.

Pix of the First Day of School in Perryville.

Moriah on the first day of school! The sign in front of the Perryville Elem. Luke chillin'

Aw, Mom!

Well, it happened to Moriah today. That thing that all kids fear. Momma came to school and embarrassed her royally.

Perryville Elementary School has a finely tuned system of picking up kids in front of the school. It works well. It is similar to what they attempted to do at Atlanta Primary but most people actually participate fully without venturing away from the process.

The thing is you have to get there early or your child has to wait and Moriah doesn't like to wait; especially when it is 100 degrees outside (and who can blame her).

So, Luke and I start the "leaving the house" process at 2:45. The school is about 4 blocks away. We get there at 2:50. I let the motor run for about 5 minutes to cool the vehicle down. Then, so as to not waste the precious gasoline. I turn the motor off; not realizing that the lights are on.

I sat there in the parking lot of the elementary school for 10 minutes with all of the windows down. There was a cool breeze (as cool as it can be when it is 100 degrees)blowing. It was bearable. I am abou 5th in the endless line of waiting parents. At 3:10 the bell rings, I turn and look at Luke and said "Let's fire this puppy up so it will be cool when Sissy gets in!" Luke, of course, says "NO!"

I reached and turned the key. Wha, wha, wha. "Uh-uh!" Luke or I one said that. I'm not sure which. I ran up, leaving Luke in the car (windows were all down remember), to the "head usher" (for lack of a better term)and said "I have a problem." She looked scared, I guess I probably did too.

I'm new in this town. I just want to fit in. I don't want to draw attention to myself. I just want to live life and blend. So, hear I am, #5 in line at Moriah's new school, in this huge "bus" called the Sequoia............not blending!!!!

I told the lady what I had done. She said, "No, you didn't. This does not happen." I asked if there was somebody that could jump start me. She asked if I could go to the office and tell them to call someone to help me. What??!!!! That will take like forever (is what I was thinking). But, I ran up the steps to the office. Again, Luke is still in the Sequoia (uh, windows still down).

I explained my situation as rapidly as I could. I knew pandomonium was going to break out when that 4th child got in the car and I was not moving. Not to mention, I knew Luke would be screaming when I got back. The secretary turns to the principal, Mr. Magee (whom I have never met but I recognized him because John told me he reminded him of Kirby McCord--if you don't know Kirby too bad...he's a nice guy). They called the maintenance guy.

When I got back to the vehicle, Luke was NOT crying (yea!). One less thing I have to deal with. They ladies loading the children went to get Moriah and put her in the car. She inquired as to what was happening. When I explained it to her, she said, "If you EVER do this again, I will ride the bus from now on." Gee....thanks Moriah....I knew you would understand Mom is having a difficult day.

Tony the nice maintenance man shows up with his power booster. I had jumper cables but this actually worked out better because we got out sooner. While Tony is hooking up his box, Mr. Magee says, "Tony, this is the band director's wife." Now, remember, I had never met Mr. Magee. Tony looks at me grins and rolls his eyes.

After apologizes a gazillion times and then thanking them another gazillion. Mr. Magee stopped the massive flow of traffic to let me back out and go on my merry way. Moriah wouldn't look at me all the way home. The nerve......embarrassing her at her new school, and on the first week too.

Luke's Comment of the Day!

I got this awesome profile image from picklemylayout.com!

You Can't Take It With You....Thank God!

As we have completed our move but still not totally settled, I spoke with my brother on the phone yesterday about the entire moving experience. My brother and his family moved in October, my parents in May, and our little family unit in June.

I was sharing with my brother about a rebellious Moriah moment that my daughter had. She announced to her dad, "Mom hates it here too!"

I joined in, "No I don't!"

"You said you didn't want to move."

"I didn't want to move. But, I like living here."

We haven't really been here long enough to like or dislike it. It is more like being 'content' with where God has placed you. The unknown is a little scary and I don't particularly care for the changing churchs. The part where you can start over, make more friends, keep in touch with old ones, redecorate (!!!!) is nice and fun!!!

When we moved the first time as a family back in 4 B.L. (before Luke), once was not enough. We moved 2 more times in the next 2 years. ARGGGHHH!!!!
This last move was the hardest. I was still working. The kids spent most of the summer with grandparents (thus, the onset of one really bad case of separation anxiety). John was starting a new job. It was very trying. I don't know how many times we were asked if our relationship was going to survive the move.

I hate packing. After 8 two and 1/2 hour one way trips to Perryville to find a house, we started packing. Not to mention, we made 4 trips moving, one in a U-Haul and 3 with an open trailer. It rained 3 of the 4 days we moved (Guess which day was sunny! You got it....the U-Haul day!) In hindsight, I should have started packing when John got the second interview. But, I hate it, hate it, hate it and I was being stubborn (Know where the kids get it!). Plus, I had to do most of the packing for my parents move as well.

As my brother and I were sharing in the pain and anguish of moving. I said, "I hate it! I don't mind moving. I hate packing." At this point, I blurted out, "I wouldn't even want to move to Heaven if I had to pack to go!" My brother laughed. "You can't take it with you? Thank God!!!!" This is a statement people should not say to me. You can't take it with you!? I just feeling extremely blessed that we get to leave it all here!

How Did That Happen?

Today, as we were driving to Nashville to pick up my last paycheck (YEA!), we came upon a pretty bad wreck in Hot Springs. There were at least 2 and maybe 3 ambulances, 2 firetrucks, and a whole host of police cars. Moriah seemed a bit taken by all of it. She is very sensitive to danger and people being injured and such. We are not gauckers. We didn't look hard but were unable to see the actual cars that were involved in the accident. When we were past the wreck, from the backseat Moriah inquires, "Now, how did all of those ambulances and firetrucks run into each other?" I looked in the rearview mirror at the mess behind me (the wreck!) and could say nothing except "My lord, Moriah?????"

What is Branson Breath?

Today, as I sit here with Luke giving me "raspberries" and trying to lift my shirt up and saying "Boo-bay," we are watching Spongebob. Patrick and Spongebob thought that people are scared of them because they are so ugly. It turns out that it was Spongebob's Sunday that was giving them "Rancid Breath." This announcement brings from my daughter, "Mom, what is Branson Breath?"

Happy Mother's Day!

I had the greatest Mother's Day ever!!! First, we drove to Waldron to visit my mother.
Sunday morning, I was brought a beautiful piece of artwork from my daughter that said I was "the greatest mother of her whole life." I got a cute card from my husband. Then, I heard "Moriah, what are you doing?" followed by "I'm making my mom breakfast for Mother's Day." How sweet!!! It arrives in the bedroom and it was my favorite.........Jelly Sandwich. No peanut butter because it was the "BAD" code. While I was enjoying this very special breakfast in bed, Curly Top enters the room with a big smile on his face, jumps in bed with me, and we watched Little Einsteins together and ate jelly sandwich. I also got a card from the kids...they both signed it...yes even Luke!
We went to church with Mom and Dad and then out for lunch. After visiting Marty (my bro), Theresa, and Marleigh, we drove through Perryville trying to find a place to live.
It was a GREAT DAY!

Spring Break Pix

Luke Playing TeeBall

Luke and Tee Ball on Vimeo